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In 2022, long‐tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis), a once ubiquitous primate species, was elevated to Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. In 2023, recognizing that the long‐tailed macaque is threatened by multiple factors: (1) declining native habitats across Southeast Asia; (2) overutilization for scientific, commercial, and recreational purposes; (3) inadequate regulatory mechanisms; and (4) culling due to human–macaque conflicts, a petition for rulemaking was submitted to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to add the species to the US Endangered Species Act, the nation's most effective law to protect at risk species. The long‐tailed macaque remains unprotected across much of its geographical range despite the documented continual decline of the species and related sub‐species and the recent IUCN reassessment. This commentary presents a review of the factors that have contributed to the dramatic decline of this keystone species and makes a case for raising the level of protection they receive. Highlights: The long‐tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis), the most heavily traded primate species in the world, is now Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.This assessment is based on (1) declining native habitats across Southeast Asia; (2) overutilization for scientific, commercial, and recreational purposes; (3) inadequate regulatory mechanisms; and (4) culling due to human–macaque conflicts.Without immediate mitigation the IUCN projects a ≥ 50% decline in population size over the coming three generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses of the H5 subtype remain a serious concern for poultry and human health. The Gs/GD lineage of HPAI A(H5N1) viruses continues to circulate and [...]

Yaws, an endemic tropical disease distinguished by bone and skin lesions, is caused by infection with Treponema pallidum subsp. pertenue treponemes. Successful yaws treatment campaigns during 1950-1965 were followed by [...]

The global increase in urbanization is leading to heavier interface between humans and wildlife. Within these anthropogenic landscapes, little is known about ranging patterns, particularly with regard to urban primates. Here we present the results of the first long-term deployment of multiple GPS collars on two species of macaques to investigate the impacts of urbanization on urban primate ranging patterns in Singapore and Gibraltar. Collars data acquisition were excellent with respect to the amount, quality, and accuracy of data collected; however, remote connectivity and drop-off functionality was poor across all deployments. Analyses highlighted high variability in ranging patterns between individuals within each species that aligned with access to human food resources and patterns of tourism. Individuals from troops with less access to human food had much larger home, core, and day ranges relative to those with regular provisioning or raiding opportunities. Almost no temporal range overlap was observed between any focal individuals at either site and spatial overlap was low for all but two troops at each site. We found no relationship between anthropogenic schedules and changes in ranging patterns. Significant seasonal variation existed for daily path length and day range size for both the Singapore long-tailed and the Gibraltar Barbary macaques, with long-tailed macaques increasing their range during the equatorial monsoon season and Barbary macaques increasing their range during drier, summer months. This study highlights how the behavioral plasticity found within the genus Macaca is reflected in ranging pattern variability within urban environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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While studies of rhesus macaques ( Macaca mulatta) in the eastern (e.g., China) and western (e.g., India) parts of their geographic range have revealed major genetic differences that warrant the recognition of two different subspecies, little is known about genetic characteristics of rhesus macaques in the transitional zone extending from eastern India and Bangladesh through the northern part of Indo-China, the probable original homeland of the species. We analyzed genetic variation of 762 base pairs of mitochondrial DNA from 86 fecal swab samples and 19 blood samples from 25 local populations of rhesus macaque in Bangladesh collected from January 2010 to August 2012. These sequences were compared with those of rhesus macaques from India, China, and Myanmar. Forty-six haplotypes defined by 200 (26%) polymorphic nucleotide sites were detected. Estimates of gene diversity, expected heterozygosity, and nucleotide diversity for the total population were 0.9599 ± 0.0097, 0.0193 ± 0.0582, and 0.0196 ± 0.0098, respectively. A mismatch distribution of paired nucleotide differences yielded a statistically significantly negative value of Tajima's D, reflecting a population that rapidly expanded after the terminal Pleistocene. Most haplotypes throughout regions of Bangladesh, including an isolated region in the southwestern area (Sundarbans), clustered with haplotypes assigned to the minor haplogroup Ind-2 from India reflecting an east to west dispersal of rhesus macaques to India. Haplotypes from the southeast region of Bangladesh formed a cluster with those from Myanmar, and represent the oldest rhesus macaque haplotypes of Bangladesh. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that rhesus macaques first entered Bangladesh from the southeast, probably from Indo-China, then dispersed westward throughout eastern and central India. Am. J. Primatol. 76:1094-1104, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]